Date of Award

Spring 4-30-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Religious Studies

First Advisor

David Maldonado Rivera

Second Advisor

Noah Tetenbaum

Abstract

This project analyzes the role of biblical and religious theatre in secular society through the case study of the Broadway musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It asks the questions of who gets to frame a story that is authoritative in multiple faith traditions and how we are to understand its half-century of popularity in the face of minimal scholarship. Chapter One covers a brief history of the interactions between religion and theatre as well as the development of contemporary musical theatre. Chapter Two details a performance history of Joseph and the way in which the show has evolved musically, theatrically, and visually over the course of five decades, including how it interacts with the biblical source material. This chapter then explores the notions of pastiche and postmodernism in relation to the genre-borrowing numbers in the show and how they are related to Orientalism and racial habits in musical theatre. Chapter Three describes the Christian framing of the original show and how it has been reframed by Jewish artists to create reverence for different audiences. This chapter also discusses Jewish identity in America and how this informs how the show understands the relationship between ancient Israelites and contemporary Jews. Finally, this chapter considers the way in which Christianity, secularism, and colonialism are realized through nostalgia in America.

Rights Statement

All rights reserved. This copy is provided to the Kenyon Community solely for individual academic use. For any other use, please contact the copyright holder for permission.

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